The once-penniless single mother has sold more than 250 million copies of her five Potter books.

England captain David Beckham's star status has been propelled from 56th place to 22nd in the annual list.

The footballer has seen his celebrity power increase despite allegations of an affair.

But the highest ranking Britons this year are the Rolling Stones at number five.

The band are up five places from last year, after boosting their mammoth tour revenue with a best-selling DVD.

Catherine Zeta Jones is at number 56 and has outdone her actor husband Michael Douglas who does not even make the list.

The ranking is a turnaround for the couple - when they married the Welsh-born actress was by far the lesser name.

The Last Samurai star Tom Cruise was named the most powerful celebrity in 2001 but has been off the list for the last two years.

Now he is back - at number four - and his ex-wife Nicole Kidman doesn't get a look in on the list, which considers earnings and public exposure.

Number one last year, former Friends star Aniston has dropped to 17 but still hovers above husband Brad Pitt who comes in at 37.

When it comes to earnings alone, Jim Carrey is the highest ranking actor - taking 66 million dollars (£37m), Cameron Diaz the top earning actress at 32.5 million dollars (£18.5m), and the Olsen Twins the top kid stars at 28 million dollars (£16m).

Gisele is the top earning model at 10 million dollars (£5.7m), and former US president Bill Clinton the top earning speaker at 6.3 million dollars (£3.6m).

Tiger Woods, the top athlete at 80.3 million dollars (£45.7m), comes second on the overall list, and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey comes third.

Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp makes his debut at number 10.